In restaurants, especially quick service (fast food) restaurants, fast, consistent, efficient and safe food preparation is essential for a successful operation. One important task frequently required in the preparation of quick service food items is the simultaneous transferring of large numbers of food items to or from various food preparation stations. The simultaneous transfer of these items is typically labor intensive work which frequently requires a high degree of restaurant worker coordination, time and attention if the food items are to be quickly, safely and satisfactorily prepared.
The simultaneous preparation of a large number of hamburger sandwiches is one example of the demands made of workers in a quick service food environment. To perform this task, a worker must remove a large number of hamburger patties from a storage area, add the patties to a grill one at a time, remove the patties when each patty has been sufficiently and uniformly cooked, and place the patties on buns containing the appropriate condiments. Each of these tasks involves a transfer of food items which requires the worker's time and attention. Because many of these tasks simultaneously compete for the worker's time and attention, the worker may find it difficult to consistently produce a cooked product of uniformly high quality.
Even when a grill worker can consistently produce cooked items of uniformly high quality, the worker effort required to reach this result makes the process labor intensive. In areas where workers may be difficult to employ, or when labor resources are better used to perform other tasks, the multiple food transfers required in preparing food results in a labor intensive process.
Finally, the simultaneous preparation of a large number of food items raises potential safety and health issues for both the worker and the customer. First, an opportunity for worker injury may exist whenever a worker is required to transfer food items in close proximity to heated objects such as a grill or fry vat. Additionally, the sanitation concerns that are inherent to food service work generally are implicated each time a worker handles a food item during the preparation process.
Although quick service restaurants have existed for many years and now number in the tens of thousands, these establishments typically continue to use labor intensive, manual processes to prepare large numbers of food items.
Accordingly, a need exists for a commercially suitable food transfer system which reduces labor requirements and enhances the ability of the worker to safely and efficiently produce a product of consistently high quality.